The Cabinet in the Absence of the Power of the Prime Minister in the Ming Dynasty

After Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the system of prime minister in the Ming dynasty, the policy-making body was disjointed with the administration, on the basis of which the cabinet came into being, whose duty was confined to presenting memorials to the emperor and mediation in the core of the regime. However, this function was restricted by the written instructions of the emperor and the protocol eunuch who worked as his assistant. The cabinet was not endowed with the power of the prime minister, and this system ran through the Ming Dynasty and led to the weakness of the cabinet, the domination of eunuchs and the conflict in the cabinet and among the parties. The mutual causality reflected the political corruption of the Ming Dynasty and hastened its collapse.